CalTel Set To Lease Part Of Landmark HQ To Stay Afloat

Funds-starved Calcutta Telephones is set to lease out parts of Telephone Bhavan, its Dalhousie Square headquarters that happens to be one of the city’s most easily recognised addresses.

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) subsidiary is also looking to rent out telephone exchanges and even sell some of its prime properties across the city, besides leasing out parts of its nine-storey headquarters, as part of a drive to monetise its assets to keep itself afloat.

CalTel chief general manager Biswajit Paul said he had already received the nec-essary clearances from the centre to sell a few prime properties located at posh addresses and lease or rent out the rest to garner revenue.

For Telephone Bhavan, which overlooks Lal Dighi and Writers’ Buildings in Dalhousie Square, the city’s most precious heritage district, CalTel has fixed a rent of Rs 284 per square foot. The ground-plus-eight-storey Art Deco building, with built-up space of 1.5 lakh square feet, was constructed in 1954.

“We propose to rent out around 45,000 square feet or virtually the entire ground floor of Telephone Bhavan, retaining only a sales counter. We also plan to rent out 8,000 square feet in the 30,000-square-foot annexe building,” Paul said.

If CalTel finds takers at the price it has quoted, it will make a neat Rs 1.5 crore in monthly rental from the two properties in Dalhousie Square. That, along with whatever else it is able to cobble together in rental income from sprawling telephone exchanges in various neighbourhoods, will come in handy in meeting its fin-ancial commitments like paying salaries.

The second highest rental — of Rs 96 per square feet — has been fixed for the Salt Lake exchange located next to the Central Government Office Complex.

Other high-value properties are located in Chowringhee, Alipore, Ballygunge, Kalighat and on Sarat Bose Road. “Initially, the rental period will be three years, following which terms of the contract will be reviewed for extension,” Paul said.

Properties that will go under the hammer for outright sale are situated in Madhyamgram and Maniktala. The Bhubaneswar circle of BSNL has already leased out a number of properties in the Odisha capital to banks.

The public sector unit, facing an acute funds crunch, has already asked 1,700 employees to opt for VRS; the staff strength now is 2,500. The VRS scheme has also helped unlock big chunks of office space. A process is underway to relocate the remaining staff so that the vacant spaces can be aggregated for renting out. “The offices are being redesigned for optimal use of work space,” the CGM said.―Times of India